Melbourne's latte society gets on its bike

Picture: SIMON SCHLUTEROn the way to a healthy breakfast, Michael Tenace, Jay Bessel and Peter Davis hum down Lygon Street.

Cycling was once just for fitness. Now it is part of the city's culture. Carol Nader reports.

Pulses racing and faces flushed from their exertions, the lycra set take their seats in Cafe Racer in St Kilda. It's early morning and while many Melburnians are still dozing, this lithe assemblage is wide awake - and it has nothing to do with the coffee they're sipping.

The toned calf muscles and taut tushes belong to people that motorists love to hate - the cycling brigade.

On the other side of the Yarra, similar scenes are taking place in other cafes - Threshmans, Ti Amo and Brunetti in Carlton and Mario's in Fitzroy.

Cycling is by no means new in Melbourne, but in the past decade a cycling cafe culture has been cultivated.

Cafe Racer owner Danny Colls opened the business in 1995 and has watched his cycling clientele swell from "bunches of 20 and 30 people" to "bunches of 200 and 300".");document.write("

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"They come here so hyped up on adrenaline and endorphins," he says. "I think it would be imperative for them to have somewhere to chill out and wind down before they go home and see someone who has been asleep."

He has installed hooks out the front on which the cyclists hang their bikes. His cafe was recently named in British Vogue as one of the top five places in the world to have breakfast.

There are 1.2 million bicycles in Melbourne. Half of all households own at least one. Many cyclists follow the Yarra River trail from Eltham to the city. Others commute to the city along the trail from Lysterfield. And Beach Road always draws a string of cyclists.

Andrew Philipp sometimes rides with the cyclists who congregate at Mario's, but, as a waiter at the Brunswick Street cafe, "usually I serve them". He says those wishing to join must observe a cycling etiquette.

Cyclists usually form a line or two, and signals ensure smooth cycling and limit mishaps. For instance, a leader may signal if a car is pulling out.

"But if they yell out 'Left' or 'Right' they're not talking about turning, they're talking about a chick," Philipp explains.

To break into a cycling clique, you have to gain respect. Coburg Cycling Club secretary Xavier Csar says it can take days or years to be accepted.

"People don't start talking to strangers. It can be cliquey," he says. "Women have complained that they've gone on these rides and people don't want to talk to them . . . generally it's very intimidating for women and weaker riders. They'll just get left behind."

While cycling keeps heading upmarket, the oldest cycling clubs are in the working class heartland of Coburg, Preston and Brunswick. Coburg club historian David Halford refers to the modern sport as "more of a cappuccino set rather than a beer set".

Despite the trendification, bicycles are becoming relatively cheaper, says Bentleigh Bicycles owner Len Minty. "When I started riding in the early '60s, I put three-and-a-half weeks' wages towards an average road bike," he says. "Now you'll buy an average road bike for about one-and-a-half week's wages."

Bike image is very important. While the Tour de France has made France the place to ride, French bicycle makers are not well regarded here.

Cannondale, Bianchi, Campagnolo and Avanti are among the trend-setters.

An ordinary bicycle can start at $225; a top-of-the-range bike is equivalent to a small car - about $15,000.

Fitzroy Cycles manager Stuart McKenzie says his store sells bikes worth more than $5000 to "people who have never raced in their life".

Cycling apparel is also lucrative for retailers. An outfit, including helmet and gloves, costs up to $600.

Self-confessed "cycling nut" and founding president of Bicycle Victoria, Keith Dunstan, 78, recalls a time in 1975 when the then chairman of the Board of Works,Alan Croxford, lobbied for a ban on all bicycles because they were seen as a "menace to motorists".

But, since the Kennett government improved trails for cyclists, Melbourne is now regarded as having among the world's most bike-friendly roads.

Bicycle Victoria campaign manager Bart Sbeghen says more than 10,000 people now ride in and out of the city every day.

"It's fun and healthy, and you hang out with other fun and healthy people," he says.